Cursed
by that-one-pizza-guy
Summary: In the land where The East is separated from The West by result of a tragedy that led to the extinction of magic from the world, Lucy, a Westerner, is forced to take drastic measures and cross the boundary to the other side. What does fate await her in these unfamiliar lands? How will the life of the clueless pink-haired boy who saves her change for the better or worse?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, this is Cursed! (and my first attempt in writing fanfiction) I haven't even got the whole plot sorted out (fuck pre-planning -_-) but I can say that it's gonna be one hell-uv-a ride! There's gonna loads of fluff, angst, mysteries, bad-ass moments, and **_**maaaaybe**_** even some smut.. like I said, maybe! *wink* *wink* So turn the lights off and don't sit too close to the TV! :D -forgive the mistakes (hey, i'm a newbie :p)**

**A/N: Fairy Tail ain't mine. I sold the rights to a dude named Mashima.**

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**The Other Side Is Real**

If her best friend, Levy had told her that she would be crawling through a 300-year old, five-foot wide, Mavis-knows-how-long, out-of-order, dangerous, unstable earthen-tunnel constructed by Ancient-Fioreans at the base of Mt. Hakabe, in order to reach the seemingly-existing Western End of Ishgar, in the middle of the night, wearing rosy-pink short-shorts, and a loose-fitting white tank top with Heart-Kreuz sneakers and a pink furry backpack full of energy-bars and a two-liter bottle of cold hot-chocolate (yeah, you heard me right; it's cold hot chocolate), along with a stash of extra underwear, Lucy would have checked her temperature and called up a taxi to the nearest hospital to immediately get her checked-in for a severe case of over-imagination.

Now, as she proceeded down a strangely similar, illegal, underground-passage, she wished Levy would have somehow told her sooner what she'd signed up for.

It was not like she could blame the blunette. She hadn't told her that she'd be leaving. She hadn't told _anyone_. No, the fact that drove Lucy to her current thoughts was that the stuff Levy sometimes blurted out seemed to make the strangest impressions, though she doubted even an ingenious girl like her could have even accidentally guessed something as wayward and far-fetched as that. Hell, Lucy didn't think _anyone _could guess something like that.

It had completely been on spur of the moment. Most of her friends at college and even when she had been in school always used to complain about her not being normal and her ways of jumping into conclusions and doing things without a second thought. It was like she was designed to always act on Instinct-Mode. Don't get it wrong, Lucy was a pretty intelligent girl herself, and she seemed to overthink most things, but when it came to the stuff that mattered more than the others or the ones that had more at stake, she'd charge forward with the first plan that came to her mind. It was her recklessness and lack of patience that earned her nickname 'Bunny Girl'. It didn't help the fact that she had dressed up as a bunny for her fifth-grade Halloween party, which had abruptly ended in her 'accidentally' kicking her unsuspecting homeroom-teacher in the face for attempting to steal her prized carrot. She really loved that carrot.

Therefore, when her jewel-crazed dad had come to her room that night and started talking about business, marriage, money and all that crap, and how he had found a couple of _suitable _courtiers who would be _perfect _for her, Lucy had instantly packed her go-to bag, slid herself out of the window and started praying to every god or goddess she had ever known, while bolting through her estate at a terrifying pace which she was pretty sure almost set her damn feet on fire. She reminded herself the extreme necessity to purchase some heat-proof footwear for her next escape. If that was a thing these days.

_Next escape_.

She laughed dryly at that thought, recollecting the number of times she had tried to run away from the hellish place she called home. True, the Heartfilia Manor in Acalypha was indeed her home, in all ways. She had grown up there, and knew her way around like the back of her hand. The structure itself was a fine work of art, what with the winding halls, polished surfaces, and well-furnished rooms. It had taken her dad two years to complete the project, adjoined with a huge estate, gardens, guest houses, pools and horse stables. To most; a living paradise. To the blonde, it was an undying nightmare.

Lucy still could remember bits and pieces of her life before her days turned dark. Like to all, her mother was the most caring person she had ever met in her life, and used to call her a 'light of joy'. They used to go fishing, boating, attended festivals, and dined in fancy restaurants. Even when her father was in a grumpy mood or fussed over a failed project, she would soothe him with calming words, and the atmosphere would turn lively again. She loved her mom. _Loved_. It wasn't until her tenth birthday, her mother started to develop symptoms of cancer.

Ever since then, the little blonde would sadly observe her mother weakening in strength by every passing day. It was painful to watch; her ragged coughs and pained expressions slowly adding to the air of worry and concern for her mother's health. She had been treated at a variety of hospitals, but was showing little to no signs of improvement. Her father grew restless. He became easily frustrated at times, and his demeanor changed.

However, Lucy said nothing. She chose to disregard his attitude, believing all would turn out well when her mom came back. When they were finally the happy family they once were again.

Lucy captured her bottom lip between her teeth, worrying it as she blinked tears out of her eyes, hastily wiping them away with the back of her hand. She sniffled a little and proceeded take a couple of deep breaths. It usually helped when she had one of her moments.

Her mom's death had been a painful one. With mom gone, her father became all but friendlier. His attention had permanently shifted to the company, leaving no room for the heartbroken young blonde. Every single talk they had between them, or every conversation solely centered on the aspects of social status, manners, customs, money, or business offers. Lucy had been treated as a worthy _asset_ to the the Heartfilia Clan, as well as the heiress to the Heartfilia Company; rather than as the physically and emotionally drained daughter who desperately craved her father's attention to soothe the wounds that had been left deep in her heart due to her mother's death. She wasn't even allowed to visit the neighbors' houses where her mom used to take her for play-dates. As day after day went by, she had completely given up hope on her father. It had been her friends and teachers who helped her to stray from the darkness that had grasped her soul and finally reach the state of mind she had so long since dreamed of. She had recovered from all that, and she wasn't about to let her friends' efforts go wasted. She wouldn't let her father command her life if it was the last thing she did. He hadn't been there for her when she needed him. She had nothing to repay him.

And now, as she inched through the dimly lit passage with the miniature flashlight grasped tightly in her hand, murals lining the walls like symbols, she could feel the guilt gnawing at her back. She hadn't told anyone that she would be leaving. Sure, she could always call them on the phone and tell them, but the '_Hey! How's it going? Just wanted to tell you I left Magnolia and fled to the the other side of Mt. Hakabe to the still-not-sure-if-it-exists Eastern side of Ishgar so that I can escape from my dad, and I'm also very sorry but I'll probably won't see you guys for the next few months!_' bomb isn't something you can just drop on them out of nowhere. She had wanted to tell each one of them individually but this was something she had to do.

She didn't know how she'd gotten into this mess. The plan was simple. Escape. Meet up with Gray. Go to his house. Stay until the wedding business is ruined. Go back home. Well, it _was _her home after all. Evil or not, Jude Heartfilia was the only blood relative she had. She didn't have nowhere else to go, though how badly she wanted to.

Gray had been a guy she'd met through Twitter under the name, _AbsoluteZero. _They'd become fast friends and had even met each other last summer where he had actually asked her to a date. Lucy had been overwhelmed, that she was finally going to meet him in person and had hastily agreed. She had fun, and found out he was a great guy to talk with, as much as he was charming. But then he had went out and asked her to be his girlfriend, which she flat out refused. She just did not have that kind of interest in Gray. She had come to like him, but somehow just couldn't picture him in the romantic sense. Lucy knew that Gray had been disappointed but she couldn't dwell on that. Going out on a date was one thing - she had gone out with plenty of guys - but being completely restricted to one and giving him all her attention was a different thing. She wasn't ready for relationships just yet.

Most girls would quit talking after an episode like that, but Lucy had insisted on being his friend. She had told him everything there was to know about her; her life as a student, her strict father, her friends who cared and helped change her, even brief summaries of a number of misadventures they had together. It was fun having someone to talk to about her friends and their times together, and it helped her put at ease from her father's daily routines. She had left out certain parts like her family matters and her mom's death, or her father's job, but he didn't seem to press. However, she knew little to nothing about him. He was always hesitant in sharing details.

All she knew was that he used to live far North, and his parents had died in a war. He had migrated along with a group of other people to where he lived now, and worked at some racing joint for money. All of it was new to her and she actually felt sorry for him. Losing his parents at such an early age and working to stay alive. He sure had it hard.

Lucy knew what it was like to have secrets and had told him that he didn't need to tell her anything more. And now she was suffering the consequences. Gray lived on the other side of the freaking mountain.

At first she had laughed it off as a joke, but sensing the seriousness in his tone, she was shocked. Never had she known there was an East End across Mt. Hakabe and never had she guessed her raven-haired partner in-crime lived there. He had constantly warned her not to come, and that it was too dangerous, but she knew she couldn't turn down an adventure like this now. And that's why she had texted him she wouldn't come and was going to stay at Levy's while simultaneously making her way through the woods to the passage he had talked about. The woods had been nothing less than a bitch to her, with the bugs, unknown squishy things, occasional snapping branches and what not; but to Lucy, it was worth it. Gray was so getting his fucking surprise of the century.

She was cut-off from her thoughts, as something suddenly dug into her knee, and she yelped at the sudden pain. Lucy flashed the light towards her knee and cursed at the trail of blood travelling down from the point where a small piece of metal had embedded itself onto. She even had a few scrapes on her hands and legs. And she was sweating.

Stupid underground tunnel and its shitty rocky, pointy, too-exhausting-to-crawl-through ground.

But she was grateful for the no-creepy-crawlies-or-snakes part though. She hadn't noticed until then, but somehow the place was wiped clean of them. From what she knew the Hakabe Range were deadly and filled with creatures like that. She had the strangest feeling the signs on the walls had something to do with it.

She sighed and held up her right wrist to check the time. She'd been going at it for an hour now. According to Gray, in another fifteen minutes or so, and she would be out of this dingy, never-ending hell.

The thought pumped bursts of adrenaline into her veins as Lucy took off her ankle-socks and tied it around the cut, halting the blood-flow. Slowly lowering it with a slight wince as it touched the ground, she continued her agonizingly slow race against time, with new found determination.

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Crawling out of a tunnel in the dead of the night had never felt so good to the blonde-haired girl, in her whole life.

Ever since she scraped her knee, Lucy had been moving slower than normal, taking extreme care in every step along the way. She knew she was wasting time, but she couldn't help it. Her knees _hurt_. Bad. And dragging it along the uneven floor of a mountain passage filled with pointed stones was not doing the trick.

Thus, when she had finally spotted the heavenly-spot-of-light at the end of the hellish crawl-through passage that was the exit, Lucy had let out a deafening roar - one that Tarzan would have been proud of - and took off towards her freedom.

Now, as she lied face-down on the cool grass at the corner of what seemed like an abandoned mine, she had never felt more alive. Lucy rolled over as the cool air rushed into her lungs, and she took deep breaths to calm her erratic heartbeat. There was something _tinglish _about this place. With every breath, she felt more awake, more aware of her surroundings; the air contained traces of some sort of energy, charging up her muscles and bones, and clearing her mind. She felt safe; in peace. Like she had just crossed the realm of reality into a world of the unexpected. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

Or she might have just died and ended up in heaven.

But hey, Lucy wasn't about to tempt the fates.

Slowly rubbing her sore limbs, the blonde reluctantly got up and shouldered her bag, ignoring her screaming joints. Every part of her body just wanted to curl in on itself and explode into a million pieces, but Lucy knew better than to stay in one place for too long. She had a pretty good hunch that her father's men had been on her tail from the time she left the mansion behind, what with their super-intelligent tracking skills and security cameras. Or it could have been her sprinting across the the estate gardens like some crazy marathon runner while screaming incoherent words along with a decent blue streak that would have ended up with a restriction order against her for verbal violence.

Lucy could almost imagine her friends betting money on the latter.

She sighed as she stood her ground and squinted at her surroundings, taking in the sight of the old site, ruined by the passing of times, left untouched for generations. The mine looked like it was used for the extraction of some sort of rare gemstone or something, and with the cones and barriers set up randomly, she guessed it might have been abandoned due to restrictions placed by the government. Faintly, she wondered how come no one had ever discovered such a trail to the other side before, or why were there no guards or any kind of security in such an important place. It was strange, but she wasn't about to argue. She didn't go through all the trouble to get arrested and jailed for trespassing illegal boundaries by the East Ishgar Police Department. That didn't stop her any from taking pictures though.

Photographs are historical records of life.

Yep, that was totally the reason.

Lucy pocketed her pretty pink phone (in case you didn't notice, Lucy loved pink) and worked her way from the corner of the mine, jumping down ledges and winding through roads while keeping in mind what her fellow noirette had told her. Apparently, if you kept to the wall, you would find a small hole in which you could squeeze through.

Shivers of nervousness and excitement traveled down her spine. It was all she could do to keep from jumping all around the place, screaming like some crazy mystery loving schoolgirl watching her favorite storybook come to life.

And Mavis, was it hard.

She trekked for some time before she almost lost her footing at the base of some rubble. Lucy caught herself before turning to look around for anyone who might be watching her. Heart thumping loudly, she followed a faintly visible path that was clear of rocks and wreckage.

At whose end was a approximately two-foot wide hole.

Bingo.

Punching the air around, Lucy grinned and strutted down the path, and poked her head out the opening. Pitch darkness coated the area, and from what she could make out, she was at the end of a building which seemed to have been in the middle of construction. Four tall pillars loomed in front of her, and she turned her gaze upwards revealing several levels of floors above, suspended bars and cranes decorating the place as much as her eye could see. It must have been some grand project, possibly a science laboratory considering the close proximity to the mine, or an extraction factory, but for some reason, she could see that it was halted midway through progress. Glass panels were strewn across the floor haphazardly, reflecting rays of light emanating from her flashlight.

Lucy pulled back, opened her bag and brought out the half-empty bottle of chocolate, and took a swig. Her eyes narrowed, and she considered her chances of squeezing through the dent in the wall, but shook her head. There was no way in Magnolia she was going to fit through there. Then again, this wasn't Magnolia. That didn't increase her chances any though.

She groaned and wished she had listened to her friends' warnings to stop eating random stuff and stuck to lighter food and maintained a healthy diet. Lucy would just laugh at their faces and tell them off for not enjoying life and eating what your heart desired, while they would just face-palm and shake their heads. Besides, Lucy didn't feel the need to eat less to be attractive. She wasn't one of those girls who obsessed over exaggeratingly thin waists and tried hard day and night for all that slim-beauty crap. Lucy was one of the rarer kind. She was one of those girls who could wear rags, sneakers and rainbow-colored tights to school, and would still drop boys like rocks. Pale skin, full lips, jaw-dropping curves, a tight chest and an amazing personality that made people flock to her like she was some sort of human-sized electromagnet. She was perfect. Though she ate whatever the hell she wanted, she never got out-of-shape. If Lucy knew, she didn't care, much less boast about it.

But now, even if it were for completely different reasons, she felt like they were right. She didn't know how but somehow along the way she seemed to have put on weight. Lucy guessed her luck had run out. She couldn't just always eat stuff like lasagna and chicken wings and go without gaining _some_ weight. She felt like she was experiencing one of those moments in kids' shows in which the main character gets in a mess and repents his decisions while a sad song starts up with the occasional flashbacks.

Except being the girl she was, she couldn't care less.

Lucy wasn't planning to give up now just because she got hit in the face with the truth behind stuff that taste good.

Taking another sip of her bottle, she chucked it into her bag, and put her arms through the opening. Lucy held her breath as she shoved her head in, and pushed forward. She bit her lip as uneven wall grazed along her body, sharp pain injecting into her from her sides and shoulders. Lucy struggled and struggled until she was halfway through, her upper half outside the mine, while her lower half was trying its best to push through. She cursed and tried to wrestle her hip forwards. At this rate, she was finished. Lucy was gonna die stuck halfway through a stupid hole in the middle of nowhere.

And she wasn't even going to make the newspaper. No, screw that, if that were to be made public she'd rise from the dead, destroy the printing press, and kill all the people who read the news that day. She'd rather be labeled as a mass murderer than being published as the girl who died stuck halfway through a hole in the wall because her hips were too wide to fit through.

Ugh, she really needed to get a hold of herself.

Lucy clenched her fists and continued her effort to get to the other side. She steeled her will and shut her eyes. She was going to make it through if it was the very last thing she did. As if on cue, her hips gave way and her lower half slid through the cursed dent in the wall, Lucy collapsing onto the floor, her frayed limbs resting at her sides. She panted and took deep breaths to calm herself, while her palms rubbed the fresh marks on her pale skin. Her light clothes had done _wonders_ in protecting her skin. Lucy sighed.

She was doing a lot of that today.

Lucy was exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to crawl up onto her bed, draw up her covers, and fucking go to sleep. She could imagine her small bedroom, the warm carpeted floor, her soft, comfortable bed and the soft light of her lantern-

_Crack_.

Lucy shuddered as she was abruptly robbed of her comforting chain of thoughts, by the sound of feet scraping against the hard gravel on the floor to her far right. Lucy was seated next to the hole in the wall, which was at the corner of what looked like an enormous courtyard, from where she could see the upper floors, in all their wrecked glory. The cranes and construction reflected her torchlight, an eerie silence cloaking the entire area, save for the occasional bird or a stray bat. She glanced nervously, searching for the source of her distraction, eyes finding broken pillars and cracked glass planes. The broken windows let in beams of moonlight, and the light hiss when she got up from her position next to the wall warned her of lurking snakes or reptiles. Lucy spotted a rotating glass door at the opposite end from her, across the ground, that was marked with the letters EXIT.

A wave of relief washing over her, and pinning the crack sound she had heard to a rat or something, Lucy trotted swiftly across the wreckage, avoiding chunks or large piles of metal and rock, while keeping a close eye out for anything that had the potential to kill or even harm her. The very thought of an unknown creature stalking her and crawling up her back without her even noticing it until it was too late and she was dying due to blood loss and not even having the strength to writhe in pain sent fucking shivers down her poor old spine. The whole place was giving her an extreme dose of the creepiest-of-the-creeps. Like The-Night-Of-The-Living-Dead creeps. Lucy wanted nothing more than just to sit down there and cry while complaining about each and every unfair detail that was her messed-up life.

And it didn't do her thoughts any good with the fact that she had to go back the same way she came to get home.

Well, fuck.

Her thoughts were once again halted as she stopped inches in front of the glass doors that said exit, the cocking of a gun drawing her most wanted attention. Lucy swallowed, having completely forgotten about one very important thing during her mind rambling.

"Aren't you such a wonderful pain in the ass, Miss Heartfilia." A very familiar voice said, as she heard the scuffle of feet and the grinding of silt as people climbed down from the second floor. She mentally cursed herself. She had come all the way for nothing after all. She hadn't even made it to the god-damned exit for Mavis' sake!

"Just because you had to take that cursed tunnel that none of us could fit through, we had to take the long way across the mountains to get here, all while failing to keep an eye on you, you know? That was really inconsiderate of you, now wasn't it?"

Lucy gulped but didn't dare turn back, her eyes staring and coming to focus on the reflection of the suited figure walking towards her, with the barrel of his gun pointed at the back of her head. Sweat beads poured down her forehead, the sound of his welted boots tapping against the ground with every step echoing through the building. Now that she noticed it, it was very much similar to her heartbeat in the matter of rhythm, except for the the fact that every thump felt like a hard blow to her chest.

She couldn't believe they had travelled across the fucking Hakabe Ranges just to take her back home! The place was marked as one of the top ten deadliest ecosystems in the whole world! What lead did they even have?!

How the people had built the tunnel was already beyond her. Records and findings say that Ishgar is a country that is divided equally into two halves, one covered wholly by mountain ranges and the other where the people of Ishgar have established civilization. Even ships crossing the sea and voyagers have tried to investigate it from all sides but had come up with the same conclusion. And then Gray jumps out of nowhere and tells her there is an Eastern End. The whole thing was ridiculous, and she couldn't believe how she had blindly believed him, and packed her stuff to run. And these people crossed the damned mountains just like that and uncovered the secrets of the East just to kidnap her for her stuck-up father. There was only one explanation.

The cursed fates were fucking with her.

The man smirked as his steps came to an end a foot away from her, his tall body looming over the blonde. His black hair was in spikes as usual, while long strands of white hair framed either side of his face, his crimson eyes glinting dangerously as they flitted across her, scanning for any sign of resistance. A white-haired woman filed in behind him, dressed in a tight-fitting business-jacket that seemed way too small for her, as a red-head slipped out from the noirette's other side, sporting a suit too, like his companions. Lucy felt her mouth go dry at the sight of them, her tongue desperately trying to put words in her mouth, but failing.

They were only three, but Lucy knew more than anyone what they were capable of. Her father had gone through all the trouble of piling his money to keep his _precious_ daughter safe and protected by hiring assassins as bodyguards. The Oracion Seis were an extermination squad. There was no escaping from them.

Fear clutched her heart like never before, her heart beating faster and attempting to go into full-on panic-mode. Lucy hopelessly reassured herself, as she worked her nerves and body to maintain her calm, still holding onto the slight hope that this was all just a dream.

_That's right, Lucy. You're hallucinating. Snap the fuck out of it._

The man behind her let out a dry laugh, as the blonde felt herself lose all sense of restraint, plunging head-first into despair, letting herself drown in the endless screams and pleading cries of her inner self. Memories rushed through her mind, of the many times Jude-fucking-Heartfilia had dragged her sorry ass back to the four-storied mansion in the middle of the 55-acre residence she was forced to call 'home', shouting at her and locking her up in her room, leaving her to cry herself out from all the strain. Lucy felt her tear ducts starting to fill up, but she didn't dare waver, grinding her teeth against each other to keep herself from breaking down.

Damn her if the exact same thing wasn't happening all over again. Lucy was _fucked_. And that's what she'll be for the rest of her life. Especially this time, as when she went back home, she would be greeted by some sixty-year old pervert willing to expand her _dear father'_s fucking business and ready to whisk her away into the supposed world of _romance_.

"Now then," Her attention jarred back to Midnight as he recited in a sing-song voice, "How about we get to the part where we, ahem, _escort_ you back home?"

**Sooo…?**

**P.S. let me know what you guys think of, in the comments (suggestions would be great **** ) and let's hope that my brain can work its charm to the ending of this book..! ~that-one-pizza-guy**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Here's a new chapter! And yes, you read the title all right.. about time he showed up :} Not much nalu this chapter, but be ready for a full-on dose in the next one!**

**A/N: I tried bargaining, but the guy's too pricey.**

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**Pink Is The New Awesome**

Lucy silently thanked her ex-tutor Erza for the self-defense lessons she had secretly gone for during her time at the mansion, as she rolled out of the way of a bullet that managed to graze her right calf. She knew that they wouldn't kill her; but that didn't say they wouldn't hurt her. Midnight knew as well as her that Lucy wasn't the type to come easy and would try to escape, and had taken to restraining her movements by getting a shot at her leg. Lucy groaned, her already injured legs screaming, as the crimson liquid seeped out through her skin, sharp pain coursing through her body as she struggled to keep herself up. It was all she could do to keep from howling her lungs out from all the fucking pain and the unfairness of her goddamned life.

Lucy grit her teeth and tried to focus on her surroundings, her vision fading in and out; images of her so-called bodyguards blurring by each passing second. Lucy was physically and mentally exhausted, covered in bruises and unarmed. She mentally cursed herself for not packing her trusty whip or at least her Hello-kitty hockey stick (damn thing was as hard as steel), though she doubted she could do much with any of those considering the situation she was in right now. She wasn't just facing three random people with guns. The Oracion Seis were on a completely different league; and that was what which scared her. Determined or not, she wasn't going to last much longer, even if she didn't put up a fight. Her body was already at its limits. She was drained to the bottom even as she scrambled out of the tunnel- she had absolutely zero chance of getting out of this unscathed.

_Absolutely zero. _Heh.

Lucy slightly chuckled at her own pun, but quickly sobered up once she registered the scuffle of feet moving around her. Shoving all thoughts to the back of her head, Lucy shook out of her daze, her eyes darting around the room, her gaze coming to a standstill at the displeased look on Midnight's seemingly-lifeless face. His night black lips curled downwards at the corners, pressed into a tight line, but reverting back to the usual obnoxious smirk she had come to hate, as her settled his orbs on something behind her. Before Lucy knew what was going on, rough hands grabbed her by the wrists as her hands were cross-pinned to the small of her back, her throat tightening in agony as cold fingers connected with it, squeezing the air out of her lungs.

Lucy gasped and choked, her pupils widening in terror, as the blonde's dimming eyesight picked up Angel's face, and by the theory of omission she guessed it was Cobra pinning her arms together as if she were a criminal about to get hand-cuffed. Lucy gasped more, struggling to get free, her legs kicking and flinging themselves at her attackers, only to end in vain as she felt her only remaining energy fade away, her eyeballs threatening to roll upwards as Lucy thought how good it would feel just fall unconscious then and there, and let them take her home. Blackness slowly crept into her area of vision, her mind turning blank. This was it for her.

Thoughts plagued her mind like an infection - her father's reaction on her _misbehavior_ and the usual counselling sessions he would send her to after she was punished _appropriately_. She was never going to see the outside world again, and would probably get married to some sixty-year old pervert the next week. And then, it was all over. Boom.

Hot tears spilled from the collecting pools in her eyelids, as she finally regained her will to force open her eyes.

And she was greeted with tan-brown lips.

Attached to a painfully close face, with long spiky flashes of blood-red hair, purple eyes trained on her.

Cobra.

And he was leaning in to kiss her.

Lucy let out a high-pitched scream, her gaze widening in horror and disgust as she flailed and pushed away from him, catching both him and the other two next to him off guard. Lucy didn't know how long she was on the verge of passing out, but her hands and legs were tied up and she was on the floor. A grey bandanna that was probably tied around her mouth to keep her from screaming, hung loosely around her jaw, pulled down for reasons that made her shudder just to think about.

"Erik, what the actual fuck?!" A voice yelled from her left side, followed by the red-head's _tsk,_ as Lucy quickly realized that she had finally gotten her chance to escape. She lit up and thanked Mavis, her insides filling with hope.

The newly energized blonde squirmed and rammed into the redhead's stomach, causing him to double over in pain, while she regained herself and started sprinting for the exit. Angel screeched and rushed to the collapsed man, while Midnight followed Lucy, silently cursing his impatient, self-centered companion under his breath as he retrieved his pistol and fired at the blonde who was slowly picking up her pace. For a girl who had her hands and legs tied-up, she was moving impressively fast.

The man fired two rounds at her and tsked in annoyance as he clicked his gun for a reload. Lucy's heart pounded at an alarmingly fast rate, as she tried her best to evade the shots, taking notice of the fact that he wasn't aiming for her legs. Lucy gulped, taking in quick gasps of air at every sprint, while her wound reopened and the bottom part of her right leg throbbed in pain as the blood resurfaced. Lucy let out a disgruntled moan, her teeth biting into her lower lip, drawing blood. Distracting herself from the pain in her lower leg, and the fact about what would have happened if she hadn't woke up when she did, Lucy grit her teeth and plunged into the freezingly-cold rotating glass-doors that let in stray beams of light. The doors spun open with an unsatisfying creak as Lucy was welcomed into the night, cold late-night air rushing into her face, as a southward wind ruffled her dirt-covered messy hair and her _destroyed_ clothes. Sighing, she walked forward, lolling over and collapsing on the footpath, as she ungracefully tripped on an out-of-place brick sticking out of the ground just in front of the doorway. Lucy crashed face-first into the ground, her arms scraping all over, an exasperated growl emanating from her throat, as she watched deathly rows of bullets go off by her, followed by the cracking and breaking of glass panels, glass and metal shrapnel raining down on top of her. Lucy shivered. The dreaded sound of footsteps reached Lucy and she arched her body and got up, sharp fragments of construction materials digging into her soft, supple skin.

She blinked back tears. She was hurt, bleeding and terrified. More terrified than she had ever felt in her life. She couldn't say how much she wished her mom was alive. Even if it was for a small second, Lucy just wanted to curl up in her mother's lap and lay there in her warm embrace, her soft smile and her calming words to soothe her and tell her that it was all okay. Lucy had been so broken after her mom died, and her father had _nothing_ for her. _Absolutely nothing_. Lucy had cried for weeks, while Jude Heartfilia had sat in his study going through files. Fucking_ files_! If only she were alive, she could have stopped all this! Lucy was nothing more than an object to her insane father, and she couldn't believe he had changed so drastically in such a small amount of time. And now, she was most probably going to die because he just had to hire wanted criminals as bodyguards to protect her prized possession of a daughter and keep her from running away from home. Well, thanks a lot, _father_. Yeah, _thanks_. A _lot._

She couldn't stop the fresh tears that spilled from either sides of her face as she broke, all resistance vanishing from her as she let her tears flow giving in to her fate. Lucy felt her knees buckle, legs shaking and body shivering as she toppled over once again, her legs losing footing at the center of road in front of the construction building as she collapsed onto the tarred surface, the gravel stinging into her skin along with the numerous pieces of metal and glass that had embedded itself onto her hands and legs. "Fuck.." Lucy whimpered, as she heard footsteps approaching her and the cocking of guns.

Silence.

Her heart sped up, fear clawing at her veins. Was she really going to die like this? What had she accomplished in life? What happiness did she experience? She hadn't even had a fucking boyfriend! (Though she would never admit that she was upset about it).

Ugh, Lucy wished they would just get the fuck over with and shoot her already. She had done enough thinking for her brain to short out. Midnight readied his weapon, taking aim as Lucy braced herself.

"Oiii, look out!"

Lucy screamed as the bullet hit her and she felt the sharp agonizing pain thump into her from her outsides as they shot her again and-

Eh?

The blonde blanched at the sudden interruption, as she turned to her left side, eyes finding a flash of very bright light and she squinted her eyes to look at the source. The light seemed to be nearing them as she heard the thrum of an engine trying to come to a halt, but was failing as the screech of brakes indicated that he (she just assumed it was a male) was going too fast. Her eyes and ears strained as some sort of motorcycle hurtled towards them at an impossible rate, the rev of the engine like a chainsaw in Lucy's ears. Lucy regained her senses and opened her mouth to scream, while the man who was on it turned a sharp 90 degree with his bike at the last minute, jumping off his ride as it crashed headfirst into the nearby building, toppled sideways and spun a half-assed circle - the wheels slowly coming to a stop as sparks flew and waves of heat rolled off the vehicle, warming the air around. Lucy tried her best to blink the white spots out of her eyes as she took a moment to calm the pounding of her poor heart, the constant ringing in her ears giving her a pat on the back for not dying due to a biker-induced heart-attack. She panted heavily, her arms and legs still shaking as she turned her attention to the new arrival.

The first thing she noticed about the guy was that he was wearing a slightly-faded white scarf around his neck. The sight interested her somehow, like she had seen it somewhere before, but she shrugged it off and continued to examine him as he stepped forward into the decent lighting provided by the street-lights placed randomly down the streets. He wore a plain black El-Fiore t-shirt above a black base-layer, with black running shorts and glossy orange trainers. His helmet had a few cracks here and there, and though Lucy knew little to nothing about _rider life_ _and its glorious peaks_, she was pretty sure the helmet was nothing more than crap. It wouldn't even protect him if she aimed a tennis ball at his head.

Just when Lucy thought he couldn't get any weirder than riding over-speed motorcycles without a decent helmet at what looked like two in the morning and almost died crashing it into a building; he burst out laughing.

_Laughing_.

Lucy gaped at him, her eyes never once leaving the boy, as she tried to make out what exactly was going on in his head. Shouldn't he be trembling in fear and falling to his knees? Shouldn't he go check on his bike and see if it was alright? Were all Eastern guys like this? No, that wouldn't be right; Gray was normal. Where the hell was the normalcy in _this_ situation? And that was when she realized - _Heck, normalcy left her life a long time ago_. _Preferably at the dreaded moment she had decided to crawl into the goddamned tunnel_.

However, something about him seemed familiar. His laugh rang in her ears, trying to poke at something deep inside her that was supposed to be there, but had been forgotten or had left her mind like it never existed. There was an air of something to him she couldn't quite make out; she just couldn't seem to put it in words. Like the warm, soothing presence surrounding her when she had sat near the campfire her parents had built on Christmas Eve. The memory warmed her heart, its bitterness slowly seeping into her as she warded it off. This was _not_ the time to go emotional.

Her attention was drawn to him once again as he stopped to catch his breath, turning to her. She slowly inched away, keeping her eyes on the biker as well as the three who seemed to have completely forgotten about her and were looking at the man like he had fallen from the sky or something. They looked like they knew him, but that was impossible since they didn't even know this place existed, right? What had gotten into them? She was beginning to feel nervous.

"You there! You okay?"

Lucy's head swivelled as she searched for the source of the voice that had called out to her, her deep chocolate orbs flickering back to the new guy. Lucy was staggered at his nonchalant attitude like _he had not just done what she just saw him do and his motorcycle wasn't smoking and lying sprawled on the asphalt like it had been hit by a truck_. His voice held such pure concern for her that cared nothing about what happened to him that made something in her call to him, and she found herself trusting him instantly. It was so, so weird at so many levels that it hurt. _Was she really so simple minded?_ she asked herself. Of course not. She was Lucy Heartfilia, only daughter and heir to the Heartfilia Konzern, one of the richest organizations in the world. She was taught in a way that no other kid was taught, being trained in business deals and tricks and how to make someone dance and play right into her hands. There was no way she was going to trust some random biker guy on the streets just because he asked her if she was okay. She steeled her resolve, her logic dominating her instincts as she gulped and stared at him without breaking eye contact. The Oracion Seis members tsked and she bit her lip in uncertainty as the man proceeded to remove his head-wear, stalking towards her, his features becoming clearer as he came closer.

Lucy saw pink.

At first, she had thought it was a trick of the light, as she had studied in a variety of classes and read in a lot of books, but when he dipped his head lower, her doubts were confirmed. The strange guy really _did_ have pink hair, styled in messy locks, spiked upwards; as to why he had died it pink, Lucy would never know. And since Lucy loved pink, she really didn't want to argue. That didn't necessarily mean she was _attracted to him_ or anything.

Nah.

Her attention was drawn to his face as she involuntarily shifted backwards; when he crouched down to stare at her. She followed his gaze to his eyes - and she was startled by its depth. It was the depth of someone who had experienced more in life than what he was originally letting on, keeping his emotions and outbursts in the background, because he knew nobody in the world gave an ounce of care for what he'd been through. It was the one that Lucy had been wearing since that fateful day her mother departed, the one that her friends and teachers had happily helped her take off. They had sat down and listened to all off her troubles, put up with her tears and let her throw a tantrum or two when she needed to blow off some steam. For that, she loved them, especially Levy, with her being so close to her and always being so cheerful, and she couldn't imagine for the love of God what someone would become without having any kind of support like she did. Lucy mentally slapped herself. She should _really _get her ranting on control; she didn't know anything about him and was already pinning psychological and emotional distress on the poor guy.

He continued to drill holes in her eyes, finally blinking and raising an eyebrow at her. Lucy knit her brows together, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, as she watched him get back on his feet and turn so he faced the three who were silently watching the show in amusement. He looked a little shocked at first, stepping closer. Lucy found them instantly putting up their guard when he sighed, dropped his helmet onto the asphalt, and faced them again with his gaze more hardened than last time, crossing his arms over chest.

"Erik. Beth. Sorano."

Okay.. what now?

The three tensed as Lucy gasped under her breath, realizing they were the original names of her _murder_-_buddies, _and they worked under code-names. Lucy had not a clue in the world as to how and why the boy knew them, but a suspicious feeling took root in her chest, doubting the worst case scenario.

The Oracion Seis were from the Eastern End. That meant she couldn't stay here. They could find her wherever she ran off to. Her face fell, eyes blinking back more tears as they threatened to fall, hopelessness overtaking her.

Midnight sneered as he held his cocked gun to the pinkette's - _Eek! Pinkette! _Lucy silently squealed - face. "You have no business here, Dragneel. Go the fuck away." Cobra did the same, Angel seeming a little reluctant as she too cocked her gun and raised it to his chest. Lucy swallowed hard. Dragneel was fucked. Whoever he was, he could never fight three people of the Seis and go home alive; even if he had pink hair. There was just no way-

Lucy's eyes blew open wide as the man ducked all three bullets, swiping a leg under him in a flash second when Midnight gasped, jumping back, the gun knocked out of his grip by a well-aimed back-flip. Cobra and Angel cursed and fired rapidly at the pinkette, who grinned like a maniac before letting himself dodge them by crouching and rolling away, arching his back before sprinting back at the white-haired woman and pinning her to the brick-paved footpath. Angel struggled in vain to break free, as Dragneel responded by snatching her pistol away from her iron grasp and aiming at the shocked Midnight, as he heard the reload and cock of a gun behind him.

Lucy gaped at the scene before her. Everything had happened in less than ten seconds, with her barely having time to contemplate at impossible agility with what the pink-haired boy had moved, before focusing her gaze back onto the standoff they had come to. Lucy didn't know why she wasn't running, considering she had been gifted with more than one chance to escape. She quickly found the answer to that though; her arms and legs bruised and bleeding and the fact that she wasn't getting up anytime soon.

_Seriously, what was her life anymore?_

The blonde should have been disheartened, but something in her couldn't seem to bring itself to care. She just didn't have the energy for sappy stuff anymore, goddammit. To hell with it. She had been on the verge of death moments ago, before Mr. Pink arrived in all his motorcycle-crashing glory. She was ready to accept whatever fate had in store for her; and seeing the pinkette fight her pursuers, (even if it was because they tried to kill him first) Lucy felt a strange sense of safety like he was some sort of miracle sent down to Earth to help her.

And it was becoming increasingly clearer as she fixed her chocolate-brown orbs on the three men who were unmoving, as they stood each other off, gazes sharp and unwavering. The pink-haired Dragneel had Angel pinned to the ground under his legs, one hand gripping her throat while he had a pissed Midnight at gun-point, his fingers ghosting over the trigger, and she took in the defeated form of the man who was gnashing his teeth, trembling in rage. He was so close in firing range that Lucy knew there was no way he would be getting out of there without a bullet in his head, mercenary or not. The only thing keeping Dragneel at bay was the intimidating red-haired man aiming his pistol at the back of his head, with a maniacal look on his face.

Lucy clenched her teeth in anger as she watched Cobra take a step forward, his eyes momentarily flashing over hers, smirking before he turned once again back to the pinkette, pressing the barrel of his gun to the back of his neck. Tch.

"That was very rude of you now, wasn't it? I expected a warmer welcome after seeing you again after all these years now, eh Natsu?"

_Natsu?_

_Yosh, Natsu._

_Natsu Dragneel._

Lucy tried her best to keep in her squeals regarding how cool that sounded in her mind. Not only did he ride motorcycles, have pink hair, fight off three members of the Oracion Seis with no warning or weapon, _and his name was Natsu Dragneel_? And from what she could make out in the dark, he looked pretty ho- NO! No, no no! Bad Lucy. She had already talked about this. Lucy was _not_ attracted to her pink savior. If Lucy could move, she would have slapped herself. Ugh, stupid overthinking mind.

* * *

This was not what Natsu had in mind when he kicked up his baby for a night-ride.

Natsu didn't even flinch, gritting his teeth as he felt the cold metal pushing against his nape. He didn't waver; enemies were constantly trying to poke at their opponent's weak point, trying their best to distract them, while searching for an opening to strike or escape.

He couldn't afford to lose his control over the situation, that gave him an advantage over his opposers; and also the reason he was still breathing. Natsu didn't need a strategist to tell him he'd be dead the moment he lets down his guard. If the three people with him were still the people he knew they were, then he knew they won't be going easy on him, much less let him walk away alive.

But that didn't mean Natsu was planning on dying. Nor was he leaving any of these lunatics alone.

Natsu opened his mouth to shout back a retort, when he finally noticed the red-head behind him sneaking glances at the blonde girl he had almost run over with his bike. She was still lying on the ground, staring at him, lips curling in disgust when Erik smirked at her. Why was she still lying there? And moreover, what was she doing with these guys on the streets anyways?

And then it clicked into place.

The bruises and dried blood in which the blonde had been covered in when he approached her, the way she was lying on the road, eyes fearful as they looked up at them, how her expression turned into loathing when Cobra looked at her.

She was being hunted. By these guys.

Natsu clicked his tongue in annoyance as he hardened his gaze on the furious emo in front of him.

"When ya said you had better jobs to do rather than racin round the streets for money, I didn't know ya meant pickin on girls," he scoffed at him, eyes gleaming joyfully as the rise he expected from the noirette taking root in him almost immediately. It had always been his one true weakness; he never seemed to be able to control his anger. Natsu had been unsure if he still had it in him, but his suspicions were confirmed as he took the final step, pushing his luck.

"That's real cheap, man."

Natsu smirked in victory as Macbeth charged at him, the world around him drowning in his rage as he drew back his fist for a punch, while Natsu, swiftly dodging a round of bullets from a rapidly cursing Erik, rolled out from above an unconscious Sorano and away from the range of the raging noirette. He watched in amusement as Macbeth missed, and Erik accidentally firing a volley of shots that came in contact with the unsuspecting man, who roared in pain and collapsed onto the ground next to the white-haired woman, clutching his right arm in a death grip.

"What the fuck, you idiot!" Beth screamed.

"Me? I had him under _my_ **control**!" the red-head retorted, before the former snatched his sprawled out gun from the pavement, staggering as he scored a clear shot on the retreating pinkette.

Natsu had only one goal in mind while he rushed out from under the commotion, Sorano's gun secured in his pocket, as he rolled till he was in the control range of his bike. He tapped the back of his earpiece, which was well hidden - tucked away in his expanse of vibrant hair - which he knew would trigger an upsurge of smoke to erupt from the exhausts and the installed smoke outlets he had solely engineered onto his ride. He needed to cause a distraction. Natsu smirked as the temperature in the area slightly rose, followed by a _beep_ and an explosion of smoke.

It was at that time he felt something pierce through his right shoulder, nerve-wrecking pain shooting up through his body.

_Shit._

_He got distracted._

Natsu clamped his hand over the gun-shot wound, the warm blood soaking into his baselayer and spreading onto his shirt, as another volley of shots found purchase all over his upper body. The pain was intense; causing him him to unwillingly let go of his now bleeding lower lip, as he took in a sharp inhale of breath and choked out more blood, his insides churning and breaths becoming more raid. His chest - no, his _whole body_ felt like it was on fire, while being angrily pierced by large needles. Clouds of smoke wafted around him, searing his eyes and cutting off the air supply, his vision blurring around the edges, slightly turning red. He was dimly aware of the gradually advancing footsteps of the ones who had shot him, as well as the strangled cry of someone else, whom he assumed was the blonde, crying out to him.

One whom he didn't even know was crying for him. Worried about him. When she herself couldn't move.

_What the fuck was he doing?_

Natsu felt like clawing his nerves out from the blinding pain. He slowly felt his control being washed away, and he let his legs give way under him as he fell to his knees.

_How could he let these guys beat him so easily?_

The pinkette let out a low whine, his thoughts invading his unstable mind as his breaths became shallow, and he started to choke, coughing up blood and saliva. His stomach churned, and he clenched his teeth to keep his frustration at bay, when he registered the distant cocking of a gun. He heard the girl a few feet away from him whimpering as the sounds of footsteps grew closer.

_Oh shit._

A sudden sense of renewed energy burst through him, his senses perking up instantly as he realized it wasn't he who they were after in the first place. They were after her, the girl on the road, and seemed to be more intent on going for her, rather than killing him off first. He had also noticed she wasn't shot at any of her vital parts, and that could only mean one thing.

They weren't killing her, they wanted to capture her.

Natsu felt a pang of empathy for the poor blonde girl as his gaze landed on her face, her features scrunched up in fear he recognized ever so immediately. She certainly had a lot on her life, and from what he could see, wherever these guys were planning on taking her wasn't her favorite place. Her chocolate brown eyes flashed towards him, helplessness and need evident in them as Natsu felt all sense of hesitation in him wither away.

The pink-haired man sprang to his feet, shutting off his mind from the mind-numbing pain that rushed through his body as he did so, reaching for the girl, her eyes widening at the sudden gesture. Thankfully the smoke was still around them, cutting off visual contact with the enemy as he latched his hand onto her wrist, gripping her tightly and pulling her to her feet. Natsu almost groaned; she was unbelievably soft in his hands, fragile like a flower.

"W-What are you-" she started but he cut her off, hauled her over his shoulder, trying to ignore the feel of her against him, and bolted to the source of exhaust, his fallen bike. It was _not_ the time for _this_. He shook his head and turned, so as to look at the girl's face which was an undeniable shade of red. Weird.

"You can't move, right?" she just looked at him blankly, as he voiced his concern, Natsu taking that as a 'yes', his brain going weird again as he took in the sight of her flushed features, her large, chocolate eyes - _Holy Mavis_, those eyes. Natsu cursed himself, refusing to lead his mind down that tunnel, and focused his attention. Her face showed signs of hesitation, possibly fear, as the red began to fade. Natsu sighed, shaking his head. She was scared.

But so was he.

The blonde seemed to notice, and he saw her take a short gasp of air as her eyes found purchase on his wounds. She quickly jerked her gaze towards his, catching him off guard as he recognized the look in her eyes. He had thought it be apologetic at first, but he could feel the determination filling up her senses and coursing through her veins. She didn't want to hurt him; but at the same time, she knew what she had to do. She wanted to live, and had come to terms with the fact that _he_ was the only way out.

It was sad, and hurt like hell, but it was the damned truth.

And with that he raced to their escape.

**Yep..! That's it for now! Sorry for the late upload! You wouldn't believe it, but apparently I forgot I'd uploaded a story on the net! Hell, I even forgot I had a fanfiction account! *evil guy ridiculous laugh* Be sure to let me know what you guys think in the comments.. support a young novelist, would'cha? ~that-one-pizza-guy**


	3. Chapter 3

**So! Hey again, and here's a new chapter on Cursed! I know I said there's gonna be loads of fluff; but sorryyyy - I kinda did some edits so I wouldn't rush things! Natsu and Lucy **_**are**_** gonna be interacting, and I've decided to not let them be OC; I just love their natural characters :D And they're both gonna be tsunderes (I loove tsunderes *grin*) and also Natsu's gonna be somewhat gloomy (well not gloomy, he's gonna be Natsu alright but like not on the level of typical-I-am-the-king-of-destruction-level Natsu) , but it's because of his life experiences so don't worry :) [wow did i just rhyme there? nvm -_- ]**

* * *

**Reunion**

Lucy Heartfilia was many things - attractive, creative, logical, intelligent, friendly - but there was one thing she had so poorly realized that she wasn't.

She wasn't _ready_. Not for this.

There were no words to express what she truly felt.

Lucy would never have imagined for the death of her that a _pink-haired bike-crashing teenager _would have been the one to save her from getting brutally murdered by hired mercenaries in the dead of the night.

It may have been her writer instincts kicking in, but to Lucy, it seemed nothing less than destiny.

The blonde groaned slightly as she strained her muscles, her arms wrapped around the unfortunately bloody torso of the male in the front, feeling him stiffen a bit, as she let the wind throw itself against her face, the low hum of the engine keeping her awake as the motorcycle turned another bend. She felt like the worst person in the world, holding onto him like if she let go for even a second, she would die. It didn't need a doctor to see that it was _him _who was in need of dire medical attention; his wounds were so _severe _\- Lucy was surprised that she hadn't already passed out from the blood-curdling sight. True, she had her share of major cuts and bruises, what with her one-and-a-half-hour misadventure in the tunnel of doom, and her _friendly-exchange_ with the Seis – but the poor guy in front of her was tilting on the edge of life and death. His clothes were soaked in blood, the gun-shot wounds still raw from minutes ago, and his heart thumping hard against his chest. In the back of her mind, Lucy knew that her insensitivity came from her experiences since childhood; where she was forced to watch her father's men beat up so many other people before, or because she had been watching a lot of action and horror movies lately, but that didn't make it any less frightening. She shivered, a bad taste forming in the back of her throat as she recalled glimpses of the cruel ways the maids and workers were treated at the mansion. Lucy began to shake her head, eyes growing apologetic, and her expression turning remorse as she heard Natsu hiss in pain, finally realizing she had been prodding his wounds.

_Awesome, Lucy. That's exactly how you repay him for almost dying to save you and letting you ride his bike, while he was choking out blood just seconds ago. You reopen his wounds. His _fucking_ death wounds._

Memories from minutes ago flashed before her eyes, as she swiftly loosened her grip on him. Taking her hands off entirely would have been the better option, had Lucy not been feeling like she was carrying a boulder on her back. Natsu (eep _Natsu_!) fighting the Oracion Seis one-on-three, the smoke filling the streets, him getting shot. Lucy bit into her much-bruised lower lip, her brows furrowing into a grimace. She could almost hear his pained shout, his legs dropping to the asphalt as she screamed, wishing with all her heart he was okay. It was probably in the heat of the moment, but at that time, she felt like she would give _her life _for him. It was crazy, and so far-fetched - she didn't even know the guy to begin with - but suddenly, everything had sort of blurred, and _all _she could see or hear was _him_. She had been devastated - her throat showed signs that she had been screaming the whole time - and Lucy felt like her soul had just been sucked dry out of her body. Her senses had completely shut down, leaving her a mindless shell.

To be honest, besides all that, Lucy had known in the back of her raging mind that he was dead; there was just no way anyone could survive such an onslaught of bullets.

The blonde shuddered.

And that had only made her heart yelp in the undeniable relief she felt when he had staggered to his feet, and walked over to her. She would have never thought she'd be so happy to see someone alive - except for her mother for that matter - but that was exactly what she had felt. The mix of emotions had overwhelmed her, that she had almost missed him helping her to her feet and hauling her over his shoulder. Lucy had panicked and protested at first, but the feel of him against her was so unbelievably warming that she instantly felt her letting go of her insecurities.

_"You can't move right?"_ he had asked her with that glint in his eyes, his pupils slanting into unnatural slits that made her want to sway on the spot.

It was a scary thought, but every time he looked her in the eyes, she felt... _drawn_ to him.

She could literally feel the raw sense of protection rolling off of him; for the first time in her life since her mom's death, it was then Lucy had felt truly safe. She could almost hear all the people who she had come across shouting out words of encouragement and assuring her that he'd take care of her if it was the last thing he did.

And now, as she sat behind him, his shallow breaths each an ache to her heart, Lucy had all the power in the world to prove that she'd been right. Even when he'd been on the verge of dying, Natsu had shown no reluctance in getting up and carrying her to his bike, lifting it up, and riding out after making sure she was safe.

She didn't think such people existed; much less she would ever meet one.

And therefore her final conclusion.

They had lost her father's men, but Lucy had no doubt in mind that they won't be going back without her. It _had_ been a really close one.

And so, even though it made her unbearably guilty, her only option was to stay with Natsu until things died down. It wasn't fair to him, but after seeing in person what they could do just with a couple of cheap pistols, Lucy was desperate.

Not to mention the little something in her (that she would never accept) that seemed to have developed for her pink-haired partner-in-crime.

And Natsu turning back every few minutes to check if she was alright wasn't helping force it down.

* * *

Krraaaangg.

A loud, creaky, groaning voice broke Lucy out of her sleep, with her suddenly realizing she had fallen asleep somewhere along the way. Normally, she would have freaked out - falling asleep at a completely unknown place on the back of a completely unknown person while riding his completely unknown energy-radiating bike to a completely unknown destination was too dangerous - but somehow, the blonde found herself rubbing her eyes and letting her exhaustion show through a long drawn-out yawn.

After all she'd been through, she didn't think her brain could process any more surprises or unnatural behavior.

She had grown practically immune to crazy stuff.

And that was why she sat quietly behind her escort, hands by her sides, as they entered the absolutely-not-supposed-to-be-there tunnel in the middle of a 90's building-side.

The blurred lights of the alleyway failed behind them, as the tunnel closed off their exit, a concrete wall sliding into place, lasers flashing across it.

Lucy watched in awe, as Natsu tuned his bike into auto-drive, the engine picking up a steady pace, as they descended front first into a wall.

No, not a wall.

It was a freaking semi-transparent chip-reading scanning firewall-sort-of-thing.

Yep.

The blonde shut her eyes, clutching the male in front tightly, ignoring his grunts, as the green light washed over them, lasers flashing and sounds beeping as the machine scanned them, while Natsu did something on a screen that had appeared out of thin air.

"FID-277. Natsu Atlas Dragneel."

The computer voice droned out from behind the walls, the tunnel lighting up instantly, as the walls became filled with halogen lamps, the warm white colour radiating enough to make their descent visible. Natsu pulled the brakes, the vehicle coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of the way. His face looked tiring, and Lucy immediately let her grip go.

"Hey."

..Huh?

The blonde could not register the word that had just flown out of the pinkette's mouth, as she watched him turn around to face her, a stupid fake grin tugging on his lips.

She didn't know what to make of the scene before her – the man in front of her was completely destroyed from head to toe, while he grinned at her like an elementary school-kid whose dad agreed to buy him ice-cream.

It was horrifying, at the same time weirdly entrancing.

"Could you close your eyes?"

"What?"

Lucy was in how-good-his-voice-sounded-dreamland.

He huffed. "Close. Your. Eyes. Like; real tight."

Okay, Lucy felt like if she talked to him for like five more seconds, she'd grow addicted to his voice - but this boy was seriously making zero sense. Close your eyes? Like wha- Is that what Eastern boys do? Save a girl from attackers, take her on a ride, drive her down an unidentified tunnel, take her through a machine scan, and then ask her to close her eyes? Okay.

Okay.

Lucy was _so done _playing Kick the Buddy 3.

She was _not_ going to just sit quiet and take all the kicks like that.

Lucy needed some answers; and she knew just how to get them.

"No _mister_, I am _not _closing my eyes," she spoke eye-level with the wide-eyed motorist, her tone growing more firm as she found the right words to back her up. "You may have saved my life, and brought me here, but that doesn't necessarily mean I gotta sit tight like a good little girl and do what you say."

"I still don't trust you."

Lucy thought she saw some sense of hurt in his eyes, as he turned around a let out a sigh, his hands gearing up to start the engine again. It wasn't fair to him; but then again, what he was doing wasn't that fair to her either. And so, even though how much it hurt her to do so, Lucy was going to keep her distance away from him until she knew full well she could trust him. Natsu's voice cut through her thoughts, as she felt her seating grow strangely warm.

"Do whatever you want," he droned, the warmth now spreading throughout the whole machine, as Lucy tried to listen to him.

"But don't say I didn't warn you when you start freakin' out like every other one."

The warmth of the bike grew hotter as the frame modified, the whole system rearranging itself so as to fit some alternate design, glowing lines of fiery red cutting through the rearrangements like geometric diagrams. Honestly, Lucy was impressed; technology seemed more updated than at her place, even if the ground above looked like from a ghost film she had once watched with her mom. All in all, it gave off a Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's feel, except for the realistic motorcycles and pink-haired boys.

Seriously, if there was anything that Lucy was hoping for at the end of the tunnel this time, it was for more fucking pink-haired boys.

Or just _regular_ pink-haired boys.

Natsu revved the newly-automated engine as Lucy's adventure-mode kicked in, her mind swimming with thoughts about secret underground bases, spy agents and flying motorcars.

* * *

Everything happened at once that it completely shut off the poor blonde's nervous system.

Technology and bike-modifications was one thing.

But pulling Ghost-Rider level shit thirty-feet under the ground was a whole new _subject_.

At first, Lucy had disregarded Natsu's advice about freaking out, pinning it to be about the way the machine had transformed from a 2018 Yamaha to a Z-REIGN super-sport model like the one that she'd once seen on a visit to Alakitasia. Lucy had relaxed, her mind coming to focus on the more pressing issues at hand, like where he was taking her and who he actually was, while she tried her best not to show her pride on how she didn't lose her shit after seeing all that, and how Natsu could finally view her as a matured grown-up girl rather than as the helpless, dependent person she had appeared to be.

Well, except for the fact that it all went down the kitchen sink when the pinkette rider jammed the accelerator, kicking the engine into overdrive, as a whopping blast of red-hot fire hit them in the face at point blank range.

_Sorry mom, I couldn't achieve your dream and become a world-class fashion designer. I died of Fourth-degree burns while hitching a ride on a 425-pound blazing motorcycle on a one-way street underground._

Naturally, the poor blonde _screamed_.

Screamed _the hell out._

Until she realized her body wasn't on fire, and she was wearing heat-proof safety wear, along with a heat-resistant helmet.

She was safe.

While riding a fucking flaming racing machine.

After her sense of security settled into her, it only took ten whole minutes of screaming, 'woohoo'-ing, and yelling ridiculously overused memes to get the blonde to calm her thing down.

She was seriously mature for a 19-year old girl.

Yep.

Even if she had no idea, where the boy she had submitted her freedom to was taking her.

* * *

"Miss Juicy?"

Lucy stood cautiously beside the motorcycle, her old torn clothes once again adorning her pale abused skin, as she regarded the new space she had been brought to. It was some sort of a garage, with the automated shutters, sophisticated machines and rows of tools adorning the pure white walls. The place was unbelievably clean along with being air-conditioned, for such a huge workspace; the only exit in the whole setup being the one electronic door at the corner.

Apparently, you needed a key-card to get in, as she had seen Natsu do just that minutes ago, motioning her with his eyes to stay put.

Lucy had wanted to protest, but she had high doubts on whether he would ever take her seriously again, after all the crap she had been sprouting out of her uncontrolled mouth during the forever-seeming ride down-hill.

Besides, she figured he probably didn't want her see his injuries treated; if there even was an infirmary back there.

And now someone was trying to get on her last nerve, twisting her wonderfully crafted name and making it sound like she was some kind of an adjective to her family name. Juicy Heartfilia.

Trust her. It was _not_ funny.

She turned a sharp 180, in the mood to give whoever it was a piece of her mind, but stopped in her tracks, gazing at the so very familiar face in front of her, her breath hitching at the sight.

_How did she not recognize the voice?_

Before her, with the ever so-famous, natural flowing white hair, was the woman who'd changed her entire view on fashion design - one more thing to add to the list of things that guaranteed Lucy had been hyper-hallucinating since last Thursday. Whenever that had been.

"M-Mira-_san_..?"

The older woman seemed shocked too, her blue eyes appearing to gorge out of their sockets, her lips slightly apart, as though she was trying to say something.

"W-Wha..?"

"Mira-_san_! It _is _you!"

It took two seconds for Lucy to forget all her injuries, doubts, crazy talk, and the whole business of being in a completely different world to rush and jump on top of the unsuspecting elder girl, dragging her to the ground in a deathly tackle.

Mira laughed, the sudden actions of the lively teenager, causing her to fall back into her usual caring informal attitude that the blonde was quite so fond of, poking Lucy in the sides and joking about her weight, with the blonde sputtering questions more rapidly than she could handle.

It was a wonderful reunion; at-least until the present came to hand.

"Mira-_san_, I… I don't know what's going on! Where _is_ this place? What are _you_ doing here?!"

She noticed the former-model's demeanor change, her brows furrowing, as she held up one of Lucy's hands, examining her bruises. She sighed, before facing the blonde.

"Lucy, there's a lot we have to discuss with you," Mira replied, gaining the attention of the clearly unsatisfied teenager. "And apparently Natsu as well."

Lucy narrowed her eyes at the mention of the pyromaniac-cum-motorcycle-enthusiast. "If it includes having a talk about his extra-ordinary ability in getting names wrong, I'm in."

Mira giggled. "Yeah, that _is_ one of his originals."

"It was _four_ letters! L -U -C -Y!"

* * *

Natsu exhaled loudly.

Loudly.

The pinkette was standing, leaned against the wall of the space he had entered through the E-Door. The area was a small, narrow, four-foot long, well-lit passage-way that had the electronic door at one end and a double-door entrance on the other end.

Natsu took a moment to calm himself, his erratic heartbeat doing the best it could in trying to tell him he wasn't far from afterlife. Getting into fights and breaking a few bones had always been the way Natsu rolled, but now that he really thought about it, he really had been injured a lot more than he would have been comfortable with.

Who was he kidding; he was fucking _this_ close to getting kicked out of the biosphere.

His eyesight was rapidly dimming, his body growing weak, and his wounds still dripping with blood. Not to mention the mind-numbing pain.

And on top of that…

He took in few gasps of air, trying to get the oxygen into his system, the action causing him to double over in pain. The pinkette held onto his sides, like if he gave enough pressure, he'd be able to close the wounds. He groaned.

Usually when Natsu had one of his injury-related fits, he'd tell his mind to get the heck away from his dorsal posterior-insula and wander away to other matters. But this time, he was keeping it in check.

Because if he ever let it out of his sight, he knew exactly where the damned thing would be _wandering_ off to.

The absolutely-not-interesting-annoying-loud-mouth-blonde-bimbo-of-a-girl.

Yep, that's _exactly_ what Natsu thought of her.

Pain-in-the-ass _extraordinairé_.

Even if she was hot, had gorgeous brown eyes, _and_ threw the cutest tantrums.

Natsu shut his eyes tight, clenched his teeth and tried to get his brain out of that one-way tunnel. But whatever he tried, he couldn't deny the connection he felt when he looked her in the eyes, or whenever he touched her.

He felt so… _at home_. It was unreal.

And that was why he never said a thing when Lucy had pressed into him, shouted at him, made his injuries feel like they were on fire (not referring to the time on his bike), and enriched his knowledge on the wonderful things that seem to come out of feminine mouths on reaction with etherious fire (now referring to the time on his bike).

He had _zero _memory of a time when he had exhibited so much _patience_.

And that too, for _some girl_.

And then he remembered her face when she had been screaming random stuff about carrot-nosed dogs.

_Nah_.

There was just no way in earth Natsu was _somehow_ attracted to that chick. She was too _weird_ for her own good.

And shoving that happy thought to the back of his mind, he proceeded to open one of the double doors, stepping into the wide hall that was his supposed home, right before his scarlet haired demon of an '_adopted-mom'_ clocked him in the face while a bunch of others hauled him up and rushed to the nurses' station.

What he didn't know was his heart would soon betray him.

And fate would make its play again.

Like it had done so many years ago.

* * *

"He's alright; being tended to in the other room as we speak."

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief; though she'd never accept it, she was kind of worried he'd fallen and died somewhere along the way.

_You have always been quite the optimist, haven't you Lucy?_

She let that sink in, as she tried to rein in her mind to focus on the current situation God had thrown her way. Lucy had tried opening and closing her eyes about a fifty times while leaning against the headboard of her bed, but her brain just wouldn't process it.

Before her, sitting comfortably on a rolling leather chair, hands on her lap, was someone she'd known for ages, at the same time she never knew. Her ever-so-familiar eagle-brown eyes seemed to stare right through the blonde's very being, her perfect figure complimenting her attire; an extra-large leather-black air-force jacket with loose-fitting orange cotton shorts, with matching black combat boots. The jacket looked quite expensive; rather worn-out if any, but she could see that it was well-maintained, like it was really important to her. The older woman kept a steady posture, as she spoke.

"Lucy."

The teenager broke out of her thoughts. "Hai, Miss Knightwalker," she responded, her eyes picking up clear dissatisfaction from the scarlet-haired intimidation. She sighed, her eyelids fluttering from open to closed, before flicking back to open again, while she rested her head on her propped up hand, which had now come up to support her head on the hand-rest. Her silky red hair fell into waves behind her, some of it pulled into a loose ponytail. She looked amazing.

"_You know Lucy_; you don't have to refer to me like I'm some sort of old woman who likes to spend her after-noon feeding sparrows," she complained, lips curling in annoyance, as she reclined back on her seat, hands coming up to fold themselves under her chest. "I understand that you have a hard time getting all of this into your head, but you've gotta face facts. I'm not the Erza you know; nor have I received any info on a fitness-training, over-dramatic, sword-master twin with a sugar-addiction problem," she added, when the blonde looked disbelieving. "Trust me when I say, if I was related to someone like that, I would know."

The blonde nodded, as she forced her mind to understand. This wasn't her world; just because Mira somehow managed to cross boundaries doesn't mean everyone she ever knew should come rushing back here.

She had no time for character-recognition games anymore.

What she needed was a full-on crash-course on what the fuck was going on in her life anymore and what this whole place really was. And that was exactly what her scarlet-headed companion was going to give her.

"So," she began, the blonde now paying utmost attention. "Assuming all you have told me about yourself is true-"

"It is, I swear."

The red-head nodded, continuing. "Your name is Lucy Heartfilia, and you're from the town of Acalypha, Magnolia, on the Western side of continent." She paused to look for signs of opposition, before moving on. "You were led here, on the account of your own actions, while trying to escape from your father's men, who wish to drag you back home for reasons you do not wish to reveal."

Lucy noticed that her tone was growing more formal the more she talked, reminding her of a certain someone. She decided to let that matter rest for now. She nodded, urging her to continue.

"Apparently, you know Gray Fullbuster, Mirajane Strauss, and from what I could understand, your introductions on your father's men who you claim to have followed you here, strangely resemble those of Mackson Beth, Erik Teyson, and Sorano Aguria of the Nirvana Sector, which isn't far from here, just about ten blocks away; one of the nearest ones. They were reported to have left the membership, along with a few of the others," she confirmed Lucy's doubts. "What I didn't know was they had started business on the other side."

Okay; Lucy had no idea what a sector was, and why people lived underground, but there were also a million more things she didn't know, so she decided it was best to stay quiet.

"And for what happened later," Erza's eyes travelled from the tip of her gothic-black nails to meet the blonde's chocolate-brown ones. "It seems my thick-skulled son was the one to help you escape, after a bloody fight."

_Okay, what?_

_Did she just say 'son'?_

Lucy felt like she hadn't heard her right.

"Um.. Mis- uh, I mean Erza? I think you just called Natsu _your son_," Lucy pointed out, along with a fake laugh that seemed to come out of nowhere, as she scanned for humour signs on the red-head's face.

Knightwalker just stared.

And stared more.

"Uhhh.. Erz-"

"He _is_ my son."

A gazillion images flashed before the poor blonde, many indecent, many too crazy, until Lucy flipped the off-switch.

_No more, Lucy; no more._

_So what? Natsu was Erza's son. Pfft. She'd heard weirder._

The scarlet-haired _mother-of-one_ broke eye contact, her gaze distant, like she was pretending to witness the sunset at three in the morning, through the imaginary window on the wall beside her, Mavis-knows-where underground. Somehow, Lucy could hear a distant violin playing a sad tune.

She turned to face her, lips parting as if she were about to say something, then decided to remain silent, as she shook her head while her finger brushed a tear (where had that come from?!) away from her eyes.

_When had this gotten so emotional!?_

Lucy thought about intervening, when she heard a sniffle, and a dry laugh, while the red-headed woman broke into a smile. Lucy swore she could see the invisible blooming flowers and bright golden sparkles clouding around her.

Somehow, Lucy felt Knightwalker wasn't far behind Scarlet in the drama section.

It was probably a head-to-head.

"Well," Erza sobered up. "That's a story for another day."

Lucy wasn't sure she wanted to hear that _story_ – something told her it had PG written all over it. She was still a mommy-girl, even if her mom was long gone and she was a good year over eighteen.

And she was _proud_ of it.

"Now then, I assume you have questions?" the red-head cut through her line of thoughts, as she blinked stupidly back. Erza seemed to relax, a more friendly nature taking over her, now that they had finally sorted out formalities. "Wow, who am I kidding; _of course_ you do."

And then it all came back to the poor blonde.

_The Eastern End._

_Adventure-mode; on._

The woman perceived the teenager's change in interest, her final signal to go on. "Lucy," she started, the said-blonde picking up, before she proceeded to her favorite part of the session.

"Ever heard of magic?"

**And… YES! That's it for this chapter… leaving us with more unanswered questions than EVER! And special shout-out to Bugseey, who guessed right; there **_**is**_** magic in The East! **_**But just not the way you'd think**_** ;) And with that, and a promise for a crash-course on everything-you-need-to-know-on-the-Eastern-End in the next chapter; I'm leaving the stage! Be sure to review - you guys say the sweetest things! **_**au revoir**_** ~ that-one-pizza-guy**


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